Charlotte De Celles, Senior Business Advisor, Claims, knew from a young age that she was Indigenous, but didn’t connect with that part of her heritage until later in life. Her mother is Métis, but she moved away when Charlotte was a child. As a result, Charlotte didn’t get to know her mother’s side of the family until she reconnected with her mother in the 1990s “That’s where my identity quest started,” she says.
Métis people are one of three Indigenous groups recognized by the Canadian constitution, along with First Nations and Inuit. Métis people self-identify as Métis and are accepted by the Métis Nation. The word with a capital M refers to people who have roots in the community of the Red River, in Manitoba, or other historic Métis communities (primarily in British Columbia, the Prairies and Ontario). In French, the word “métis” – with a lower case – can also be used to refer broadly to people of mixed (Indigenous) ancestry.
Most of Charlotte’s extended family lives in Métis communities in Manitoba and in 2019, she travelled there to reunite with them. “I saw my whole family,” she says with a smile. “People who only knew me because they had a photo of me as a baby.”
She heard stories about how family members had to hide their Métis identities to be accepted or successful, including her grandfather, Hector Allard, who later became a Canadian ambassador.
“To get out, and to receive the education that he did – he went to Oxford – he had to say he was white. He couldn’t admit that he was Indigenous. It was out of the question.”
Charlotte explains that she feels a range of emotions about these family stories – frustration that they had to hide their identities and sadness about the lives many family members had to lead. “I feel guilty. Because I am the lucky one. I benefitted from my ‘white’ status.”
She now embraces her Métis identity and is actively working to reconnect with her culture. She says one of the challenges she faces in her daily life in Québec, is that people don’t often understand that Métis people are a distinct Indigenous group.
“The word ‘métis’ in French means mixed. So, when I say I’m Métis, people don’t see the capital ‘M’. They say, ‘oh I’m also mixed.’ It’s not the same thing,” she explains. “It’s about culture, it’s about traditions, it’s about belonging.”
She encourages her colleagues to learn more about the Métis people and their distinct cultural background, and says the book, The Northwest is our Mother, as a good place to start.
Charlotte is in regular touch with her family in Manitoba and has even considered moving there. “When I renewed contact, it was the most natural thing in the world.”
She’s sharing her story to create awareness about the distinct Métis culture, and to continue to connect to it. “It’s a way to reappropriate myself, to continue to reclaim my cultures, to affirm that I am proud, and even though it took time for me to find it – it’s possible for others to too.”